Curbed – A Postcard From Driverless San Francisco
Article from Curbed. Interesting because describes what taking a robotaxi is really like, and how it turns out to not be that useful, especially given how slow they can be.
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
Robotaxi.news
Are robotaxis the future? Or now in the past?
All Articles
This page shows all the articles on Robotaxi.rodeo with the most recents ones first. Select an article below, or select a specific topic to browse using the menu above.
Read MoreCurbed – A Postcard From Driverless San Francisco
SF Standard – Cruise Hired a Lobbyist Close to Newsom. Then a Crash Changed Everything
Article from the SF Standard by Josh Koehn. Covers how not only did Cruise and Waymo report spending $2.3m to lobby state and local politicians to allow them to use our roads as a testing ground, but Cruise did not report hiring Axiom Advisors, close partners with Governor Newsom, until after key CPUC hearing.
Self-driving cars still aren’t the future
Self-driving cars are a fantasy because they are based on flawed technologies. We can and need to do better. The article is from Paris Marxs’ blog at disconnect.blog, where you can also find many other articles on the perils of technologies like robotaxis, and the technologists who foist them on our society.
Forbes – An Injury Lawyer Says What GM’s Cruise Robotaxi Might Face After Dragging Woman
Article from Forbes by Brad Templeton. A discussion with a personal injury lawyer on legal issues associated with the incident where a pedestrian was dragged and injured by a Cruise vehicle.
Forbes – Cruise Robotaxi Dragged Woman 20 Feet In Recent Accident, Local Politician Says
Seminal article from Forbes by Cyrus Farivar that broke the story on how pedestrian was hit and dragged for 20’ by Cruise vehicle. This article completely changed the narrative of the incident. Note: Robotaxi Insider, a frequent contributor to the site, provided the source material to the reporter to break this important story.
Automotive News – Cruise robotaxi was second vehicle to strike San Francisco pedestrian, video shows
See full original article by Pete Bigelow at Automotive News. Editors note: this is a key article because the reporter viewed video from the Cruise vehicle and explains how the pedestrian was not suddenly “hurled” or “flung” into the path of the Cruise. Instead, the pedestrian was not severely impacted…
The Dawn Project Video Shows How To Enable Autonomous Robotaxi Mode In A ‘Full Self-Driving’ Tesla
See full original article and more at DawnProject.com Santa Barbara, CA – Public Safety Advocacy Group The Dawn Project has released footage showing that a Full Self-Driving Tesla can easily be turned into a driverless robotaxi with just a few household items. These everyday objects easily circumvent the vehicle’s driver monitoring…
The Lever – The Lobbying Surge Behind San Francisco’s Robo-Taxi Mayhem
Driverless taxi companies Cruise and Waymo wined and dined officials and landed a plum regulatory appointment before they scored free rein on San Francisco’s streets. See full original article on The Lever by Freddy Brewster. In the lead-up to California regulators voting earlier this month to allow driverless taxis to…
SF Standard – Here’s How Much Robotaxi Companies Spent to Influence California Regulators
Article from SF Standard by Josh Koehn. Goes in depth about the lobbyists who are used to sway the regulators and the politicians. $2.3 million!
High-speed crash due to red-light runner AND Cruise stopping inappropriately
Crash Analysis: 8/18/23 Cruise vehicle crashed with other vehicle at 26th St & Mission St in San Francisco. When a Cruise vehicle detects a problem it stops for “safety”. But this crash shows that doing so can actually be incredibly dangerous and result in serious damage. Cruise never acknowledged the dangerous behavior and apparently never addressed it.
Cruise collides with firetruck on an emergency call
Crash analysis: 8/17/23 Cruise vehicle crashed with a firetruck on an emergency call. Cruise seriously misrepresented what went went wrong and appeared to never address the root problem of their vehicles not stopping for emergency responders.
San Francisco seeks reprieve from CPUC decision allowing unfettered autonomous vehicle expansion
San Francisco officials, led by City Attorney David Chiu, have filed a motion to halt the CPUC's decision allowing unchecked expansion of commercial autonomous vehicles (AVs) by Cruise and Waymo. Citing public safety concerns and numerous incidents where AVs interfered with emergency services, the city is seeking a stay while challenging the decision's lack of consideration for safety and environmental impacts in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
SF Chronicle – Robotaxis are good for disabled people, advocates say. But are wheelchair users being thrown under the (autonomous) bus?
Article from SF Chronicle by Soleil Ho. Covers how Cruise and Waymo actively lobbied and funded disability organizations to get support for robotaxis. But it appears this was just a cynical ploy.
The Atlantic – San Francisco Has a Problem With Robotaxis
Article from the Atlantic by David Zipper. Discusses whether out society actually wants or benefits from robotaxis, and why “coning” AVs was bound to happen.
NBC Bay Area Video – Are driverless cars ready to hit the road full time?
Bigad Shaban from NBC Bay Area investigates whether driverless cars are ready, just before the big CPUC vote on them on Aug 10th. The first ride went just fine. So for the second ride he brought along a long-time driving instructor to judge the abilities of the robotaxi. In the…
